The present invention is for the kind of power machines, engines, pumps or compressors which have two or more pistons which work against each other, preferably with a common combustion chamber in a stationary cylinder and where the power is transmitted to or from a rotating motion without an intermediate crankshaft.
It is an object of the present invention to use the movements of the pistons for further purpose.
In combustion engines the transmission of power from a to and fro (i.e., reciprocating) motion to a rotating motion generally takes place with the use of some kind of crankshaft or the like device. In some cases however crankshafts are less suitable and this is especially the case when to and fro motions of different, often opposite directions together shall be transmitted into a rotating motion. Especially this holds for the kind of power machines i. e. combustion engines, compressors or pumps, where two pistons at the same time work against each other in a common cylinder bore. In this case the use of a crankshaft brings with it complicated mechanical designs in order to put together the power from the two pistons to one common rotating motion. Transmission of power between a to and fro motion and a rotating motion may instead take place by means of a ballbearing which moves in separate tracks and comprises a ball which is surrounded by a ball holder which is mounted to a piston rod or corresponding device for each piston ball for transmission of the linear motion to rotating motion.
One such device has two parallel plane discs, one stationary disc and one relatively thereto rotating disc. In a cylinder which is positioned centrally relative to the discs there are two pistons which are working pistons in a combustion engine and which have a common combustion chamber. Permanently joined to each of the pistons there is a piston rod which in its opposite end has a holder means for the ball by means of which the power from the to and fro motion is transmitted to the rotating disc. The rotating disc is mounted onto a holder which in turn is mounted onto an outgoing shaft from which the rotating power is taken for various purposes. The balls are movable both in linear tracks in the fixed disc and in a common elliptic or otherwise closed shaped track in the rotating disc. In other embodiments the tracks may be substituted for by raised edges which are contacted by for example roller or slide bearings on the sides of the edge.